Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said hackers from his country may have meddled in the 2016 US election, but insisted that they acted on their own and were not backed by the government.

When asked about the issue at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin compared hackers to artists and said, "They might get up one morning and read something about state-to-state relations, and if they're patriotic, they might choose to make their own contribution to the fight against those who speak ill of Russia."

This is the first time since allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign emerged that Putin has conceded that any sort of hacking attacks may have taken place to influence the US election.